These Hot Dogs in London May Win a Michelin Star

Chefs and brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin already have three Michelin stars under their belts. Now, they're hoping to create award-winning street food.

Back in 2010, when the then-recently under-new-management Harwood Arms won a Michelin star, it made headlines as the first pub in London to be awarded the gastronomic Gallic honor—and it remains so today.

Now, however, two British chef-brothers with a pair of Michelin-starred restaurants in the capital have turned their former wine bar into a craft beer–focused gourmet pub, Galvin HOP; setting their sites on award-winning street food. Meant to be the first of a chain of many, the next outpost will debut in their home county of Essex.

Chris Galvin’s first brush with Michelin came in 2000, when he was at Terrance Conran’s Orrery, and he soon went on to open Jeremy King and Chris Corbin’s beloved Wolseley, while his brother, Jeff, cooked at several starred spots. In 2005, the brothers got together to launch their first solo venture, Galvin Bistrot de Luxe, and, today, they oversee a culinary fiefdom of six French-accented restaurants, two of them in Edinburgh, and four in London (including the Michelin one-stars Galvin La Chapelle and Galvin at Windows). It’s safe to say, though, that Galvin HOP in Spitalfields Market is the only one of their outlets specializing in hot dogs. Yes, you read that correctly: hot dogs.

In a recent conversation with the brothers, we learned more about their fancy street food, as well as the chefs’ future plans for their Galvin Pub Company.

What was the inspiration for this project—why a Pub de Luxe, as you call it, in London now?

The rents and premiums for restaurants in London have gone crazy in the last four to five years. We felt that a pub would offer a lot better value. We have looked at quite a few in the countryside, purchased our first, and hope to have as many as ten or 20 in the future. We then thought to ourselves, why not rebrand one of our restaurants as a test bed and London flagship for our new Galvin Pub Company? Hence, Galvin HOP.

Do you plan to start making your own beer at any point?

It has been a dream to brew our own beers for a long time, as many brasseries traditionally have in France and Germany. The trouble in central London, though, is that with high rents, space is at a premium. When we find the right site in the future, it’s something we’ll do.

What are the most unusual beers you’ve got—any particular favorites of yours that are perhaps hard to find elsewhere in London?

Our only beer on tap is unpasteurized Pilsner Urquell. It arrives by tanker from Prague once a week. There are only five other venues in Great Britain where you’ll find it. It tastes like no other beer we have ever tasted. We support this with a good selection of bottled craft beers.

We'd love to know more about those hot dogs: Why hot dogs?

In Spitalfields Market, there has always been a kind of street-food scene going on, which we have been a part of for the last six years. With the refurbishment at Galvin HOP, we had a chance to build a dedicated kitchen and take-away window. We developed the Dog Deluxe based on Alsatian choucroute. Using the choucroute as a base, we made our own frankfurter. We also do a Dog Deluxe Royale, which has celeriac and truffle remoulade in the base, all topped with winter truffle Maille mustard.

How will the subsequent Galvin pubs be different from this first one—or, more specifically, how will the second outing in Chelmsford, Essex, be different from the first one?

Chelmsford will be different in that it was an existing pub and has been for hundreds of years. We will leave the existing pub as it is, although it needs extensive renovation, and add a dining element to the sides and rear. We hear how many pubs are closing nowadays, and we think without a strong food offer we would not have a viable business. It would be disrespectful of us to simply take a rural pub and all that it means to a community and replace it with restaurant tables. We also have a one-and-a-half-acre garden here that we can have a lot of fun with.

You grew up in Essex. What was missing from the local pubs there when you were young—and maybe is still missing from pubs there now—that you hope your spot will fill a niche for? Similarly, in London, do you see Galvin HOP as filling a niche that otherwise wasn't filled by other pubs?

When we were children, our parents had to leave us outside pubs with a bag of crisps and a bottle of Coke. We very much want our pubs geared toward locals needs, be it for a coffee after the school run; a simple pint with a snack; or a great-value, quality restaurant experience—somewhere very homely and multifunctional for our guests.

Do you have Michelin aspirations for this spot?

Our restaurant Café A Vin [the brothers’ previous spot at this location] attained a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and we are very much hoping to retain this.